Published: July 21, 2008 10:21 am            

BOOK REVIEW: Pictorial makes you want to get away

Few things are as torturous as sitting in your office while making your way through a book featuring photographs of sandy beaches, breezy porches and relaxing retreats.

The new pictorial book “Lake Houses” is quite effective in transplanting the reader to the scene that’s depicted. John de Visser uses more than 100 captivating photos to show off the exteriors, gardens, decks and every nook and cranny in more than 100 of the continent’s most eye-catching summer homes.

With plenty of full-page and two-page photo layouts, more than ample space is devoted to the picturesque images de Visser captured. Some of the two-page spreads, in particular, get the reader lost in what he shot, with a shot of a couple island retreats on Lake Rosseau in Muskoka, Ontario, being among the most beautiful.

While his panoramic photos are enjoyable, it’s some of the unique angles de Visser shoots from that make you stop turning pages to further digest what you’re seeing. A couple photos of an unidentified lake house at winter, for example, show the adjoining water both from the viewpoint of the window of the front door and from the water itself, with the camera laid on the ice mid-lake and pointed toward the structure.

These outdoor shots are the most effective in the book. The interior shots are also decent — it’s nice to see how other people decorate their houses — but they do nothing to set this book apart from any other tome about houses. When de Visser ventures into nature is when he’s at his best.

Judy Ross’ accompanying text to begin each chapter is adequate, but it ventures too much into the realm of the ridiculous at times. Words are needed to complete these scenes, which she does well, but her description sometimes goes too far in its verbosity. The photos should be the star of a book such as this, but the text tries to supplant them at times. Oddball quotes from famous people are also stuck into white spaces on some of the pages, which succeed in the goal of filling the space but otherwise bring nothing to the table

Few of these photos feature the inhabitants of these homes, but they don’t need to. A great story is told just by what portions of nature are captured, which in and of themselves make the reader long for an extended weekend getaway.

Until you can get out of the office, “Lake Houses” is about as good a way as any to feel like you’re gone.

Contact editor Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.



IF YOU READ

• WHAT: “Lake Houses”

• BY: Photos by John de Visser, text by Judy Ross

• DETAILS: Published by Boston Mills Press, 224 pages

• GRADE: A-



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